Why Glen Canyon?

Folly is always folly — yet this one is rare in that the mistake of damming
Glen Canyon became clear within the lifetimes of the people responsible. But
it's also rare in that, here, we may really get a second chance. If the Glen
Canyon Institute and others have their way, we'll bypass this dam, fill Lake
Mead, and designate Glen Canyon a national park.... When that happens, the
drained Lake Powell and the resurrected Glen Canyon will be emblematic not of
our folly but of the graciousness with which nature is still willing to meet
our adolescent species halfway. It will be a monument to the possibility that
we haven't totally screwed up the planet forever, that we might still be able
to back off a little and make our peace with the rest of Creation.

—Bill McKibben, Forward, Resurrection: Glen Canyon and a New Vision for the
American West (2009)

Glen Canyon is one of America’s — and the world’s — greatest natural wonders.
John Wesley Powell, who named Glen Canyon during his 1869 survey, described it
as a “land of beauty and glory.” Edward Abbey wrote that Glen Canyon was “a
portion of earth’s original paradise.” Wallace Stegner judged the Glen to be
“potentially a superb national park.”

In 1963, the diversion tunnels of Glen Canyon Dam were screwed shut causing the
waters of the Colorado River to back up 186 miles through Glen Canyon forming
Lake Powell. Built for political purposes, the dam was originally meant to
provide a sustainable water supply to the arid Southwest, but has since
undermined that very objective and has caused massive collateral damage across
the Colorado River Basin. Before the dam, Glen Canyon was a wonderland of
gorges, spires, cliffs, and grottoes; the biological heart of the Colorado
River, with more than 79 species of plants, 189 species of birds, and 34
species of mammals; and a cultural treasure, with more than 3,000 ancient
ruins.

After the dam, Glen Canyon became known as “the place no one knew” and
America’s “lost national park.” Legendary conservationist David Brower
lamented, “Glen Canyon died in 1963…. Neither you nor I, nor anyone else, knew
it well enough to insist that at all costs it should endure. When we began to
find out it was too late.”

Through its creation, Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam effectively destroyed the
unique ecosystem of Glen and Grand Canyon, with negative consequences reaching
all the way to the Colorado Delta downstream. Designers of the
1922 Colorado River Compact
, which determines allocation of the river’s water, seriously overestimated
actual future river flow, seriously underestimated future water demand, and
did not foresee the impacts of climate change. These forces have resulted
in a water deficit of almost 1 million acre-feet a year in the Colorado
River system. Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoirs together have been
hovering at about 50 percent of capacity and scientists predict that they
will probably never fill again.

To further complicate water supply concerns, recent scientific studies predict
the water supply in the West to be reduced drastically over the next few
decades. By 2050, University of Washington scientists predict the flow of the
Colorado River to decline by one third. During the past decade of drought, many
scientists studying tree ring evidence suggest that the West is actually
experiencing a return to normal drier climate conditions.

In reality we may be reentering a low water period that has not been seen for
the last 500 years. If the predictions of climate models are correct, the
Colorado River water supply will continue to decrease. It is imperative for the
sustainability of the West that our current inefficient water management system
be altered. As the most destructive and
least useful water project ever constructed
, operation methods at Glen Canyon Dam must be re-evaluated. It is the duty
of water managers in the West to secure a sustainable system for the
Colorado Basin of the future.

The remarkable potential for large-scale ecological restoration is already
apparent. As Lake Powell reservoir has declined, dozens of miles of the main
canyon and hundreds of miles of side canyons have been exposed for the first
time in decades. Ecosystems are healing. People are beginning to explore the
emerging backcountry. There is also evidence that damage to the
Grand Canyon’s ecosystems
can be substantially reversed. Temporary management changes that mimic
natural river flows have partially replenished sediments and improved
endangered fish habitats. These environmental benefits could be made
permanent under
GCI’s “Fill Lake Mead First” strategy.

Lake Powell: Unnecessary for Water Delivery

The original goal of Glen Canyon Dam was water security; that is, water storage
to ensure delivery to the Lower Basin and protection of the water dowry of the
Upper Basin states. Under the
Colorado River Compact of 1922
, the upper basin is required to deliver 8.23 million acre-feet (MAF) of
Colorado River water to the lower basin and Mexico every year. We now know
that annual delivery requirements were based on flawed projections
suggesting that annual river flow was equal to 16.5 MAF annually. More
than eighty years since the Compact was signed, the average annual flow has
proven to be closer to 13.5 MAF.

In addition, due to its high desert location and huge surface area, Lake Powell
loses an average of 860,000 AF of water annually to evaporation and bank
seepage - enough water to supply the entire City of Los Angeles.

Lake Powell loses more than 6% of the Colorado River's annual flow -- more
than three times Nevada's annual allotment.

Since completion of the Dam, more than 34 MAF of Lake Powell water has been
lost to evaporation and bank storage.

The water lost is Upper Basin water: Glen Canyon Dam actually makes it more
difficult to fulfill the delivery requirement of 82.3 MAF of water to the
Lower Basin.

In San Diego water prices – based upon the price used in the ongoing
negotiations for the sale of Colorado River water by the Imperial Irrigation
District to San Diego – the water lost at Lake Powell each year is worth
$225 million dollars.

Since 1963, more than 34 MAF of water has been lost from Lake Powell; worth
about
$9 billion.

All Dams are Temporary - Sedimentation

Because dams are built to store water, they also store the
sediment
that all rivers carry. This sediment builds and steadily decreases the
storage capacity of the reservoir. Ultimately all dams fill with sediment
or are destroyed by natural floods.

Built in 1963, Glen Canyon Dam is 563 feet high and has steadily been filling
with the equivalent of 30,000 dump truck loads of sediment every single
day—100 million tons of sediment annually.

Arsenic, lead, selenium, boron, and mercury from upstream sources are
currently trapped in the sediments of the reservoir, rather than flowing
harmlessly to the sea, as they did prior to the dam.

The flooding of Glen Canyon covered a yellowcake uranium mill tailings pile
near Hite which may pose health risks to fish, wildlife, and humans who visit
Lake Powell.

As sediment builds up in Lake Powell reservoir, water storage capacity
steadily decreases, and will ultimately fill the reservoir completely.

Scientific studies predict that without the reservoir, sediment deposits in
the main channel upstream of the dam could be flushed out in as little as
five years
(CEA).

Glen Canyon Can Be Restored

We have a chance to address both the water supply and environmental crises at
the same time. It is no longer viable to maintain two half-empty reservoirs
— Lake Powell and Lake Mead. A more practical alternative would be to
consolidate most of the water from both reservoirs in Lake Mead, with Lake
Powell used as a backup in flood years, as illustrated in our
Fill Mead First
approach.

This strategy would not solve all of the problems facing the Colorado River
Basin, but it would have many benefits for the people and ecosystems of the
region. It would help to maintain a reliable water supply for millions of
people who depend on Lake Mead. It would allow water to flow more naturally
through Glen Canyon Dam, helping to heal Grand Canyon ecosystems. It would also
permanently lower Lake Powell, exposing many more portions of Glen Canyon that
have been flooded under the reservoir and allowing their recovery.

A few years ago, this kind of fundamental change seemed impossible. Today, as
the pressure on the Colorado River system grows, policy makers and water
managers are open to new ideas that they never would have considered before.
The public is becoming aware of the problems and recognizing the need for
positive change. If we act soon, we can ensure a sustainable water supply and
heal much of the damage to Colorado River ecosystems. This is the purpose of
GCI’s Glen Canyon Restoration Campaign.

If you'd like to help restore the Colorado River and help find a sustainable
solution to water supply in the West, please
join us.

Read more about Glen Canyon history and issues by following the links
below: